“Striving for Savings” – religion and individual economic behavior

In the Neoclassical growth model the saving ratio and human capital might be seen as the most important factors fostering economic growth. At last since Weber [2005 (1904/05)] it seems clear, that religious beliefs and involvement shapes both social and economic human behavior. This paper tests the hypothesis whether religious belonging and believing influence a household’s economic decision-making in the USA, which was found to foster economic growth, namely the saving ratio at the individual level. Using data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID), we find religious effects on saving. Regarding the decision to save money no large differences within the Christian religions, namely Protestants and Catholics, were found. However, large differences exist compared to non-religious people as well as to Non-Christians and Jews.

[1]  Nils Braakmann,et al.  Product diversification and stability of employment and sales: first evidence from German manufacturing firms , 2011 .

[2]  J. Wagner.  Wer wird subventioniert? Subventionen in deutschen Industrieunternehmen 1999-2006 , 2010 .

[3]  N. Braakmann,et al.  The impact of the 2004 EU enlargement on the performance of service enterprises in Germany’s eastern border region , 2010 .

[4]  Markus Groth,et al.  Zur Relevanz von Bestandseffekten und der Fundamentalen Transformation in wiederholten Biodiversitätsschutz-Ausschreibungen , 2010 .

[5]  E. Rasmusen.  Private Truths, Public Lies: The Social Consequences of Preference Falsification , 1998 .

[6]  Christian Pfeifer,et al.  Adjustment of deferred compensation schemes, fairness concerns, and hiring of older workers , 2009 .

[7]  William Sims Bainbridge,et al.  The Future of Religion , 2023 .

[8]  J Wagner,et al.  Offshoring and firm performance: self-selection, effects on performance, or both? , 2009, SSRN Electronic Journal.

[9]  Max Weber.  Die protestantische Ethik und der Geist des Kapitalismus , 1993 .

[10]  Robert A Emmons,et al.  The psychology of religion. , 2003, Annual review of psychology.

[11]  Alexander Vogel,et al.  The German Business Services Statistics Panel 2003 to 2007 , 2009 .

[12]  Anja Klaubert.  Being religious - A Question of Incentives? , 2009 .

[13]  Rachel M. Mccleary.  Salvation, Damnation, and Economic Incentives , 2007 .

[14]  Lisa A. Keister,et al.  Religion and Wealth: The Role of Religious Affiliation and Participation in Early Adult Asset Accumulation , 2003 .

[15]  J. S. Long,et al.  Regression Models for Categorical and Limited Dependent Variables , 1997 .

[16]  Heike Wetzel,et al.  The efficiency of German public theaters: a stochastic frontier analysis approach , 2010 .

[17]  Culture, Openness, and Finance , 2001 .

[18]  J Wagner,et al.  Labor Market Adjustments after a Large Import Shock: Evidence from the German Clothing Industry and the Multi-Fibre Arrangement , 2009, SSRN Electronic Journal.

[19]  Alexander Friedrich Eickelpasch,et al.  Determinants of Export Behaviour of German Business Services Companies , 2009 .

[20]  Jeffrey M. Woodbridge.  Econometric Analysis of Cross Section and Panel Data , 2002 .

[21]  Maik Heinemann,et al.  Stability under learning of equilibria in financial markets with supply information , 2009 .

[22]  Nils Braakmann,et al.  How does economic integration influence employment and wages in border regions? The case of the EU enlargement 2004 and Germany’s eastern border , 2011 .

[23]  Alexander Vogel.  Exporter performance in the German business services sector , 2011 .

[24]  Stefan Baumgärtner,et al.  What is Sustainability Economics? , 2009 .

[25]  Alexander Vogel,et al.  Zur Dynamik der Export- und Importbeteiligung deutscher Industrieunternehmen – Empirische Befunde aus dem Umsatzsteuerpanel 2001 – 2006 , 2009 .

[26]  Alexander Vogel,et al.  Exportprämien unternehmensnaher Dienstleister in Niedersachsen , 2009 .

[27]  Stefan Baumgärtner,et al.  Sustainable Use of Ecosystem Services Under Multiple Risks – A Survey of Commercial Cattle Farmers in Semi-Arid Rangelands in Namibia , 2009 .

[28]  Stefan Baumgärtner,et al.  The relationship between intra- and intergenerational ecological justice. Determinants of goal conflicts and synergies in sustainability policy , 2009 .

[29]  A. Marshall,et al.  Principles of Economics , 1891 .

[30]  Joachim Wagner.  Zehn Jahre European Data Watch: Dokumentation von Datensätzen für die empirische Wirtschafts- und Sozialforschung und Zugangswegen zu den Daten , 2010 .

[31]  Education and Saving: The Long-Term Effects of High School Financial Curriculum Mandates , 1997 .

[32]  Alexander Vogel,et al.  Zur Beschäftigungsentwicklung in der Region Hannover – Ein Vergleich mit 12 deutschen Verdichtungsräumen , 2009 .

[33]  L. Renneboog,et al.  Where Angels Fear to Trade : The Role of Religion in Household Finance , 2009 .

[34]  Alexander Vogel.  Die Dynamik der Export- und Importbeteiligung niedersächsischer Industrieunternehmen im interregionalen Vergleich 2001-2006 , 2009 .

[35]  L. Iannaccone,et al.  Introduction to the Economics of Religion , 1998 .

[36]  G. Āllport,et al.  Personal religious orientation and prejudice. , 1967, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[37]  Nils Braakmann,et al.  Are there social returns to both firm-level and regional human capital? – Evidence from German social security data , 2009 .

[38]  Markus Groth,et al.  Potentiale und Risiken der Nutzung von Methan aus Methanhydraten als Energieträger , 2010 .

[39]  Paola Sapienza,et al.  People&Apos;S Opium? Religion and Economic Attitudes , 2002 .

[40]  Horst Raff,et al.  Intra-Industry Adjustment to Import Competition: Theory and Application to the German Clothing Industry , 2009, SSRN Electronic Journal.

[41]  J Wagner,et al.  The Research Potential of New Types of Enterprise Data Based on Surveys from Official Statistics in Germany , 2009, SSRN Electronic Journal.

[42]  Sebastian Troch.  Drittelbeteiligung im Aufsichtsrat - Gesetzliche Regelung versus Unternehmenspraxis Ausmaß und Bestimmungsgründe der Umgehung des Drittelbeteiligungsgesetzes in Industrieunternehmen , 2009 .

[43]  Erik Hurst,et al.  The Correlation of Welath Across Generations , 2002 .

[44]  C. Carroll,et al.  Are There Cultural Effects on Saving? Some Cross-Sectional Evidence , 1994 .

[45]  M. Groth,et al.  Angebot an und Nachfrage nach Umweltleistungen in einem marktanalogen Agrarumweltprogramm: Ergebnisse einer Pilotstudie , 2009 .

[46]  J Wagner,et al.  One-Third Codetermination at Company Supervisory Boards and Firm Performance in German Manufacturing Industries: First Direct Evidence from a New Type of Enterprise Data , 2011, SSRN Electronic Journal.

[47]  J. A. Calvin.  Regression Models for Categorical and Limited Dependent Variables , 1998 .

[48]  Alexander Vogel,et al.  Import, Export und Produktivität in niedersächsischen Unternehmen des Verarbeitenden Gewerbes , 2009 .

[49]  The Economic Effects of Christian Moralities * * Abstract , 2004 .